The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-04
THE WAY OF A HANGING.
EXECUTIONS NO LONGER CON-
QUOTED IN PUBLIC PLACES.

the New Jail-The Fatal Trap Doors
and How They are Manipulated.
The first man who was hanged in the
Dutch colony that settled New York was
hanged by the waistband of his trousers, ac-
cording to Washington Irving, and since
that time there have been almost as many
different kinds of hanging as there have
been executions. Years ago hanging was
| greeted by as large crowd as comes into a
| country town on court day, but the senti-
ment of the people has turned against public
executions, and by degrees they have
become more and more private, until
now there are few who see them This, of
| course, is the case in the cities The senti-
ment which has driven executions into pri-
| vacy has not yet reached the country where
still one may witness the high gibbet sur
| rounded by an homogeneous crowd of that
| class of humanity which permits morbid
| curiosity to drive IT whittier 1t will.
HANGINGs IN THE CITY.
The hangings were driven from the most
| open spot in the city, where the largest
number could collect, into the Jail yard, and
only those who could gain entrance there or
could perch themselves upon convenient
| roof or in a neghboring tree, witnessed the
taking off. This period in the history of
| executions was followed by one which was
marked by the ticket system. Only the
bearers of the black. bordered cards
which were issued by the Sheriff
| could gain access, and in the course of time
the number of cards of admission that the
| Sheriff issued was limited to a very few.
| Now, however, hanging has reached the
| climax of secrecy All the new jails that
| are building have within their walls a cell
| for executions, and in that cell is room for
| but few, outside of the Sheriff, the spiritual
| adviser and the Sheriffs deputies. The
| new jail of Chatham county has such O cell,
and never again will the public of this city
witness hanging. The Jail is entered on
| the Habershain street side. The visitor, or
| future occupant, as the case may be- enters
| directly into the office and passes through
a door to the right and into the Jail. Just
| by the door is a short fight of stairs that
leads to the second story, and, mounting
| these, he finds himself facing a corridor that
| runs the entire length of the Jail, and into
which all the cells open.
CELL OF DEATH.
The cells are all alike in appearance, but
the first one on the right is the one that will
have history before many years. for in it
will be enacted the last scene and the tragic
| ending of more than one misspent life. 1t
will witness the expiation of the high crimes
that can only be atoned for by death. IL
differs in nowise from the others save that
| two lines in the floor, extending entirely
! across the cell, mark the outline of two
swinging doors.
The cell is about 10 feet long and 6 feet
| wide. In front is the door, and in the rear
are iron gratings. On the sides are brick
walls The ceiling is arched, and i'll the
centre is an iron ring hanging in the eye of
| bolt that extends through the ceiling and
is firmly caught on the floor above In
the floor can be seen the trap DOORS
feet wide When they are in
position they form a part of the floor, but
when they are released they fall with an
ominous clank against the walls of the cell
| below. Upon the lower side of one OF them
is double bolt that slips into slots in the
permanent part of the floor and the other
| door rests upon it.
THE FATAL LAST LINK.
From the lever, upon which the bolts
work, runs light, but strong, steel chain
| 1t passes through an aperture in the wall
! and is attached to a lever arm that is
fastened against the outside of the cell in
| the hall. Suppose that the doors are in
| position, the bolts holding them fast and
| firm. Then go to the hail. out of sight of
| the cell and whatever it may contain, and
| catch hold of the lever. Pull it with firm
hand. 1t will slide about an inch, but
scarcely has moved when the harsh sound of
| the iron doors banging against the walls is
heard. That is the way that murder
| ders will be hanged in the new Jail
| No curious throng of idle gazers will
| grow interested i'll watching the last ago
| mics of the dying wretch who shall be called
| upon to suffer for his wickedneSs, for not
more than a dozen can find place from
| whence to see him as the cap is
/ n II nd
placed about his neck. They will not
watch, as they like to do, the
face of the Deputy Sheriff as
! he places one hand against the knot and
draws the rope through to tighten the
moose around the doomed mans neck. They
will wait anxiously through those brief
seconds, which seem so long, between the
| final adjustment of the rope and the fall of
the trap.
| GHOULS AT A HANGING.
All this is pleasant TO some people, and
| they like to compare each execution with
some other they have seen and render ver-
dict whether the hanging was neatly done
or whether it was a bungle, for, like Dennis
| in "Barnaby Rudge," they say; I've seen
many on em worked off, an likes a clean,
neat job" To be deprived of this privilege
will be hard on this class of people, but
the authorities follow public opinion
|
demoralizing. The class that witnesses
them is far too apt to make martyr of the
creature who suffers, and thus, perhaps,
Others have been led to the committal of
kindred crimes by the sympathy expressed
for the criminal executed. 1t has long been
matter of debate whether surrounding a
hanging with mystery and preventing that
strange outpour of sympathy. will not have
more Statutory effect upon persons
criminally disposed, than by permitting
the re-enactment of the scenes that have so
often occurred about scaffold, and it
seems now that people have decided in the
affirmative.
a CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
The day of an execution will be known, of
course, and around the Jail will be gathered
the same old lovers of the gallows who
attended the public hangings, but they will
only wait about to stare blanhly at the
outer walls and speculate upon the fate
| of the murderer who is to
die. They will not be interested
in watching how bravely he mounts the
steps of the scaffold, nor can they see
whether his muscles witch nervously as he
stands waiting for the trap to fall They
will only know that a man, guilty
of the gravest OF Offenses against
society, is guilty, lei into a
"a dark cell, and there without the false
bravery that the presence of a multitude of
| onlookatse ipSriraS no is MT m daatb A